Possum Busters

Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 4, 1 November 1991, Page 5

Possum Busters

Elaine Fisher

ce HE "POSSUM BUSTERS" stand at the 1991 National Fieldays at Mystery Creek near Hamilton was probably the giant exhibition’s most popular attraction. Thousands of people visited the fur-lined stand to learn about possums, the damage they do, the uses to which their fur can be put and how to skin them. The competition to find better possum traps and bait stations probably gained the most interest. Forest and Bird put up a large share of the prize money and first prize was taken jointly by James Burke of Katikati and Roger Smith of Waihou. Possums and Roger Smith have a long association. The pest destruction officer with the Waikato Regional Council has 30 years’ experience in pest destruction. He began working on the trap in March this year and since winning the award has carried out further refinements and field trials. "It’s getting close to the stage where | can look at producing the trap commercially. If it can go on the market for around $15, I believe it will be very viable," he said. Roger designed the trap to meet the contest specifications. It is light, cheap to make, made of durable materials and about the same weight as the old gin traps. Unlike the gin traps, however, it kills instantly. "I can’t see the time returning when hunters can make a living from possum trapping, nor do | think the bounty system on tails will come back. We are able to control possums reasonably well on well farmed and managed land, but their spread in native bush is going virtually unchecked. "If New Zealanders want their children and grandchildren to enjoy our native bush and its wildlife, | think they are going to have to make a personal stand to control possums." Roger believes people should regard using possum traps (preferably his, of course), in much the way they would mouse traps to control a pest. However,

should the fur market pick up, Roger's trap should prove attractive to hunters. His traps weigh about the same as gin traps, but kill the possum instantly, meaning a trapper does not have to wait for the body to go cold before skinning it. "With gin traps, the hunter had to work his line, kill the possum, hang it up to go . cold and then skin it." A concern for the environment and a background in possum hunting lead James Burke to enter the "Possum Busters" competition. "IT read about the contest in a rural paper and that set me thinking. I enjoy designing and believed that there was a need fora cheap, efficient way to control possums," he said. The design and production of the PVC bait station took about two months and at the same time James worked on a kill trap. "In fact, I thought the kill trap had more chance in the contest than the bait station. However, I believe there will be a ready market for the station, once it is produced commercially." Recent developments in the effectiveness and availability of poison for killing

possums will mean the stations can be used by anyone, not just licensed operators. "ICI have just produced a poison in pellet form which can be used by unlicensed people and these are ideal in the bait station." Lightweight, easy to see and easy to fix on trees or to fences, the bait stations are designed to protect the bait from the rain. They pose no threat to ground birds, even nosy ones like wekas, as they are set well out of the reach of these birds. James believes the bait station will appeal to farmers, orchardists and city dwellers because it is clean and easy to use, light to carry and quick to fix in place. It can be used to control rats and mice too. A special mould would be required to produce the stations commercially, but once the dye was made, production would be quick and cheap per unit. "If 1am able to produce them commercially, I intend giving a small portion of the proceeds from each sale to Forest and Bird." #